Cafe Venezia

I love discovering new and/or new to me places to eat. Around the holidays I went to Cafe Venezia for the first time with my family though my parents had gone a few weeks earlier for a holiday dinner with their friends. They raved about it so we went for a pre- New Year’s dinner. According to the restaurant’s Facebook page they recently celebrated their one-year anniversary so it is still sorta new-ish. Anyway, Cafe Venezia is a small, family owned Italian restaurant in Martinsville, NJ and the atmosphere, staff, and owners are so welcoming and friendly. That combined with the excellent food has made this a restaurant that will stay in my rotation!

For appetizers we ordered the Calamari Venezia – fried calamari with homemade ginger balsamic reduction with hot cherry peppers and sweet sausage; Mozzarella in Carroza – slices of mozzarella & Italian bread rolled in parmesan cheese batter and fried; and a Seafood Appetizer Special which I forget what was in it since it wasn’t on the menu but it was delicious!

For my entree I ordered the Ravioli alla Nicole – homemade cheese ravioli, ham, and asparagus tips in a white cream sauce. This dish was so good and not too heavy at all. I love cream sauces but not when it’s too heavy and makes you feel stuffed, so this white cream sauce was fantastic since it’s so light.

I’ve talked about it before but if Tartufo is on a menu there’s a 99% chance I’ll order it. I know it’s essentially ice cream and a chocolate shell but I can’t resist!